Marvin Hayes Is Spreading ‘Compost Fever' in Baltimore. He Thinks it Might Save the City.

To reduce methane emissions, California law SB 1383 requires every resident to recycle their organic waste instead of sending it to the landfill. San Diego residents put their organic waste into green bins to be picked up and composed.

New York City’s new curbside composting program collects food waste from residents in Queens to divert it from landfills. Microorganisms break down the food scraps in a process called anaerobic digestion that creates biogas used to heat 2,500 homes.

European cities have implemented low-emission zones that gradually restrict older, polluting vehicles from entering designated urban areas, in an effort to reduce air pollution. While effectiveness varies by region, since implementing these zones, Brussels has seen a 36% reduction in nitrogen oxide levels over five years, and air quality improvements extending up to five kilometers beyond the zone boundaries.

New York City’s Compost Project supports a network of community compost operations to reduce the waste sent to landfills. Each composter operates differently based on local conditions and needs. BK Rot, for example, employs local Black and Brown youth to collect organic scraps from homes and businesses and sells its compost.

Interns of the Campus Compost Program ride electric bikes around the University of Georgia collecting bags of food scraps and other compostable materials. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the waste is turned into fertilizer for the local community at the Athens-Clarke County Landfill.

In Nigeria, the Arewa Women Initiative For Climate Change Advocacy And Environmental Sustainability works to educate people on climate change and empower them to make informed, environment-friendly decisions. Through events like tree planting campaigns, the initiative spreads awareness on a variety of issues while coordinating action.

Vivian Kide learned to build fuel-efficient stoves in a Ugandan refugee camp to use less charcoal and prevent deforestation. When she returned home to South Sudan, she began building stoves for other women in her community and teaching them how to do so themselves.

In Philadelphia, subscribers pay a monthly fee to Bennett Compost to have the company collect their food waste weekly and compost it so it doesn’t wind up producing greenhouse gases in the landfill.

A village in India plants and maintains 111 trees to honor every newborn girl. The process has improved the local environment and air quality, thus improving the status of girls and women in the community.

As a part of the Upcycled Grain Project, Avalon International Breads in Detroit makes crackers out of spent grains from breweries. The practice reduces food waste that would otherwise produce greenhouse gas emissions.